Shannon Connor Winward is an American author of literary and speculative fiction and poetry. Her work has appeared widely in such venues as Pedestal Magazine, Flash Fiction Online, Strange Horizons, Illumen, Ideomancer, Silver Blade Magazine, NewMyths.com, Star*Line, Hip Mama and PANK, as well as in genre anthologies on both sides of the Atlantic. Shannon recently earned Honorable Mention as an emerging artist by the Delaware Division of the Arts. Shannon is a member of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and the Science Fiction Poetry Association, and a Rhysling Award nominee. She lives and writes in Newark, Delaware. For a full list of publications, or to read her accounts of writing, witchery, mommyhood and general sassiness,Shannon Connor Winward is an American author of literary and speculative fiction and poetry. Her work has appeared widely in such venues as Pedestal Magazine, Flash Fiction Online, Strange Horizons, Illumen, Ideomancer, Silver Blade Magazine, NewMyths.com, Star*Line, Hip Mama and PANK, as well as in genre anthologies on both sides of the Atlantic. Shannon recently earned Honorable Mention as an emerging artist by the Delaware Division of the Arts. Shannon is a member of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and the Science Fiction Poetry Association, and a Rhysling Award nominee. She lives and writes in Newark, Delaware. For a full list of publications, or to read her accounts of writing, witchery, mommyhood and general sassiness, visit her website: www.ShannonConnorWinward.com...more

Last year (according to Goodreads) I read a whopping THREE books of fiction.

There was a time (in another life, in a galaxy far, far away) when I never went anywhere without a novel at hand. I’d pull that baby out at stoplights, read over meals, in the bathroom, standing over the printer at work—you know how it is.

Their absence now is an icky symptom of an over-extended life; what time I have fo...

LOVE IN THE TIME OF UNRAVELLING (2013), represents everything good that an independent book can be. Set in the “shattered States” of the mid-to-late twenty-first century, this collection of interwoven stories explores the tenacity of love, spirit andLOVE IN THE TIME OF UNRAVELLING (2013), represents everything good that an independent book can be. Set in the “shattered States” of the mid-to-late twenty-first century, this collection of interwoven stories explores the tenacity of love, spirit and human goodness within one of the ugliest possible imagined futures. Mired in catastrophic global pollution and entrenched economic corruption, McMillian’s eclectic cast of survivors, visionaries, and misfits are surprising and compelling. Her writing is clear, evocative, and—lo! —clearly well-edited. Her storytelling is creatively non-linear, transporting the reader across time and geography in what seems at first a random set of “Quantum Leaps” but eventually reveals itself to be a clever pattern within the novel’s haunting and beautiful mosaic.

My only (only!) issue with LOVE was a bit of chronological confusion which may or may not be iron-out-able but, in the end, doesn’t really matter. (And I can’t remember the last time a book made me go back, take notes, and do the math, so there’s that.) With elements of science fiction fantasy, and slipstream, McMillian’s stories hold appeal for lovers of genre fiction, yet they also maintain a consistent, resonating literary tenor that, in my opinion, has the strength to cross boundaries and affect a much larger audience. I can see her work fitting in the highest tier magazines or, with luck, backed by Big Name Brick and Mortar Inc. Yet Ms. McMillian embraced the Independent Publishing model, and more power to her. You can see her creative vision in every aspect of the book, from the cover art (her own) to the composition and scope (there’s a sequel, she informs me, so watch for that!) Which, I suspect, was entirely her point....more

Of all the books on the shelves now for parents of kids on the spectrum, this one caught my eye because of its straightforward title. How to teach Life Skills to my 8-year-old Aspie is exactly what's been on my mind lately. I'm very glad I took the lOf all the books on the shelves now for parents of kids on the spectrum, this one caught my eye because of its straightforward title. How to teach Life Skills to my 8-year-old Aspie is exactly what's been on my mind lately. I'm very glad I took the leap and bought it.

For starters, this is not your typical, well-meaning but boring "all about my life with autism and how I turned out okay" story. Nor is it the clinical and predictable "I'm an expert so let me list out everything I know in marketable sound bites" manual. It's actually a refreshing mash-up.

Jennifer McIlwee Myers is an "Aspie at Large" who has been there, and, yes, she uses examples from her own life, but she does it in insightful and entertaining ways. The point of the book is to lay out how kids on the spectrum think and experience the world and how parents and teachers can use that understanding to help them be more independent and socially functional.

As a parent of an Aspie, her explanations of the autism perspective ring true to me (in fact, there's a list of example Irrational Beliefs in the last chapter that sounds so much like my son, it's spooky.) And while most of what's here I "knew", in theory (having dealt with so many teachers and therapists, fielded so many suggestions, and having read so many of these books!), Jennifer managed to communicate it in a way that helped me step back and put it all together. Since my son's diagnosis a year and a half ago, I've been learning to see his "problems" as part of the larger pattern of being an Aspie, rather than a bunch of frustrating and disastrous character flaws. This book has really helped with that process.

And while I think my husband and I have done a good job all along of supporting our son's development, (we do a lot of the "do"s and not so many of the "don't"s, yay us) Jennifer helped me realize ways we may have been holding him back: Like, for instance, buttering his bagel in the morning because it's easier than waiting for him to do it, or keeping track of his wallet so we don't have to listen to a meltdown when he can't find it.

My biggest take-away from this book is that the convenience of "right now" has to take a back seat to the end goal, which is to be as Independent an adult as he possibly can. Now that we're finally in a place where his autism is understood and he is getting the services he really needs (instead of getting punished and suspended every week and constantly threatened with expulsion), it's time to shift out of disaster mode and start really thinking about the future. There are a lot of great, specific, examples in this book on the kinds of things to focus on and how to go about doing it, from setting clear rules and instructions to find the learning opportunities in everyday moments.

The only thing - and really, there was just this one thing - that I disagreed with the idea that kids should not be told and rewarded for being "smart". I'm grateful for her personal story of learning to associate "smart" with easy and thus mistakes with "stupid", and the consequences that can come from that. I get it, and I think it's important that kids be rewarded for effort and taught that making mistakes is OKAY, even necessary. I just happen to think that kids who are naturally gifted in academics deserve accolades for that just as much as kids who have an aptitude for sports or arts or anything else. If nurtured and guided properly, giftedness can guide and motivate kids to great things, so, yes, we do tell our kid he's a smart cookie... a smart cookie who also needs to struggle and learn and do the work and learn to butter his own bagel and not think himself better than others, because everybody is special in their own way. So.

Aside from all of that, and the most important thing I want to impress on any potential reader, is that this book is DAMN FUNNY. I love Jennifer's goofy little jokes and sci fi references and random asides and rants. I laughed through the whole thing, and kept reading snippets to my husband. We're both total nerds, so that might be part of it. But, really, truly, I loved this book....more

"I am appreciative for being able to pay my bills, my dog’s vet bills, go grocery shopping, and the ability to partake in some fun events. There was a time when I didn’t have the money, or had it, but it meant something else had to give. To be able..."
Read more of this blog post »

"With the release of my picture book last week I have been overwhelmed by people requesting signed copies. I feel like a superstar! But superstar aside I do feel touched. Having family and friends support my work, help promote it and want a copy, e..."
Read more of this blog post »

Topics Mentioning This Author

Delaware writers
— 10 members
— last activity Feb 07, 2015 02:48PM
A group where you can find books by Delaware writers. If you know of a book by a Delaware writer that's not on the bookshelf, feel free to add it. AlsA group where you can find books by Delaware writers. If you know of a book by a Delaware writer that's not on the bookshelf, feel free to add it. Also, some DE writers are members of the group. If you have a question for any of them, post it in the discussion area.
Rules: Just keep discussions respectful, don't trash other people or their work--there's no need for that. I don't really expect people to start behaving that way, but if it does happen I'll make the group private and ban the troublemakers. ...more

Flag Abuse

Flagging a post will send it to the Goodreads Customer Care team for review.
We take abuse seriously in our discussion boards.
Only flag comments that clearly need our attention.
As a general rule we do not censor any content on the site.
The only content we will consider removing is spam,
slanderous attacks on other members,
or extremely offensive content (eg. pornography, pro-Nazi, child abuse, etc).
We will not remove any content for bad language alone, or being critical
of a particular book.